A Chance Meeting
by BerryMaiden
Summary: Perhaps they were meant to cross paths after all. Hashirama and Mito's first meeting with a twist. HashiMito.
1. Chapter 1

**A Chance Meeting**

A woman's fate was decided for her. Every decent lady knew that, After all it was customary during the warring states period in order to uphold strong ties.

The late sunrays refract through the sheer shoji walls, light drifting over the carefully arranged tea set. Sitting seiza in front of the low table was twelve-year-old Uzumaki Mito.

She dusted of her hands nervously even though she'd washed them over countless times. _Can't hurt to double check right? _ One speck of dirt and she'd be the victim of a long and boring lecture on how ladies should always always be she sensed a massive familiar yet intimidating chakra, the hairs at the back of her neck stood up, she felt a shiver go down her spine.

Her father's strong presence overwhelmed her to the core with every stride he took. The young girl immediately stood up and bowed, Her feet clumsily stumbled over the tatami mat.

"Father"

The Uzumaki head solemnly looked down at his daughter before he took a seat opposite to her.

" Sit dear daughter"

Mito obeyed at once carefully sitting down on the arranged cushion set. Her hand reached for the kettle, her gaze set warily on the older man in front of her.

" Would you like some tea father?"

The man shook his head; he placed his hands on the wooden table intertwining fingers one over the other. Mito flinched subtly. She hid this by pouring tea to her cup.

After she turned twelve there has been an alarming number of eyes watching her though her handmaiden constantly kept telling her that it was for her own good now that the young hime was making her way towards womanhood.

" I think you know why I wanted to meet with you today"

Mito nods. Not because she knew, she had a vague idea of what this upcoming conversation could be about but because she knew that her father wouldn't just want to have tea with his daughter without any hidden agenda. She lifted her cup to her lips.

The older Uzumaki sighed. He caught his daughters teal eyes with his sharp ones, to make sure she was listening. The girl felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead and her breath became uneven.

"Your betrothal has been finalized"

Mito drops her cup.

* * *

Fifteen-year-old Senju Hashirama had known he wouldn't have any say in marital matters three years ago. Back then he didn't think much of it but now that he had found out that his wife to be had been told of her fate a month ago he wasn't so sure he could go through with such a task anymore.

" _You'll never get a woman with that hair cut!" _

Though he still had his bowl hair cut the Senju chuckled at the ironic memory of his old friend's taunting teases.

" You're wrong Madara"

The young man slumped down on the dirt clutching his late mother's crystal necklace around his neck, his eyes never left the teal blue sky as he heard Akane Senju's motherly tone rustling in the leaves.

_Hush now, it's going to be all right_

* * *

Mito strapped on her sealing scrolls to her back for the last time. She was to never set foot on battlegrounds after this day. A scarred woman would certainly not make a good wife she was told.

" _But there're a lot of wives risking their lives out there" she would argue. _

"_None of who are married to highborn men" _

She found herself lucky that her father even allowed her to go. Her last time sealing corpses before she commenced a new type of training in a few days.

Training to become the perfect wife in four years.

The young woman made her way out the gates and into the borderline not before she catches a glimpse of displeasure from her handmaiden.

Not very ladylike indeed.

* * *

Hashirama, bruised and bloodied stood as his clansmen fell around him. Children, Teenagers, Adults. Innocent souls who didn't deserve a fate as harsh as this. He grips his sword, mentally blocking out the screams of anguish but no matter how hard he tried the commanding voice of his father was one thing that refused to be ignored.

"Don't just stand there you fool!" He yells. Hashirama snaps out of his trance, He lunges his sword towards a young Uchiha. Perhaps even younger than he was. The boy's dark grey eyes were throbbing with fright. Hashirama stops his attack midway. Memories of his two younger brothers lost to battle rolls through his head. Somewhere out there this little boy was someone else's brother. The Senju closes his eyes shut when he heard a small cry as Tobirama stabs the young Uchiha.

'That's how you get the job done" The younger Senju glares at his brother before charging towards their father.

Hashirama looks around. They were clearly out numbered. Looks like the Uchiha had strengthened their forces however his old friend was nowhere to be seen.

" Don't back out now!" Their father yells.

" The Uzumaki are on their way to aid us!"

* * *

She reaches the platoon she's been working with since she was seven only to find that she was not needed in the battlefield.

"W-why?" She almost chokes.

"Mitsuo-sama believes that it would be best if you help the refugees back in the Senju village"

Mito inwardly scoffs. Of course her father didn't want her to fight, he wanted her to walk right into his little schema so that she could make an impression on her future family.

The environment that greeted her upon her arrival was nowhere near the many stories that were told to her about the Senju clan. The euphoric glow, the beating of immense life force was nowhere to be found instead she was greeted with the sight of utter despair. Children without parents crying and running around, Adults who lost their own children weeping their eyes out, widows.. She closes her eyes shut. The young Uzumaki felt sick to her stomach. Mito opens her eyes when she feels something tugging her pants.

"Yes?" She looks down to see dark wet eyes looking at her.

The redhead looks at the direction the little girl was pointing at. She feels her own eyes sting when she sees another little girl who looked exactly like the one beside her, lying motionless on the ground.

Mito reaches for her sealing scroll.

* * *

Through the mists of grave despair floating around his village, A red amongst the grey atmosphere caught his attention.

She did not fight. He could tell, as she wasn't wearing any armor. Instead she was helping seal away the fallen Senju. She also looked younger than him. He watches her work quietly yet efficiently. Her thin arms carefully graze over the black ink. He eyes in awe when the black ink jumps out of the scroll in front of her.

"Excuse me?"

Hashirama snaps out of his trance like state, Big dry eyes were looking back at him. Eyes much too big for her small frame. The girl hides her grim expression as the Senju stumbles awkwardly towards her.

" Are you from here?" She asks, her gaze set on the corpse of the young girl ready to be sealed.

The Senju nods. " Yes I am" He looks over at the little dark eyed girl crying over her sister's body. Guilt washes over him. They didn't even directly contribute to the war and yet they had to suffer the same fate as the men in the battlefied!

" She won't speak" The redhead gently rubs the back of the sobbing mute girl who was now nuzzled up against her bosom.

Hashirama crouches down to her level and takes a closer look at the girl. Ash brown hair and dark dark eyes. One of the daughters of the widow of the Senju bakery he recognized. He gazes over at the corpse, same hair but he was sure her eyes had been identical to her fathers, the old man bakery keeper who had died in battle a long time ago. Before he could allow his eyes to sting he gets up.

" I know where to go"

The red head attempts to get up but the little girl weeps louder and clutches onto her like a lost child.

" Hush now it's going to be alright" The redhead caresses the girl's bushy hair. When she notices Hashirama's bewildered expression she shoots him an apologetic look. The Senju was quick to regain his composure.

" Come" He clears his throat before making his route towards the bakery. " Follow me"

* * *

Delivering the body to the widow of the bakery keeper was hard but not as hard as hearing her chilling shriek when she saw her dead daughter. Hashirama bit his lips when he closed the doors on the shattered family. It turned out that the girl died because of the shortage in food and that made it all the more worse.

"I'm sorry you had to see that" he tells the redhead once they were far far away from the bakery.

The girl shakes her head, her eyes set on the pathway. " I'm used to it"

"Oh?" Hashirama raises an eyebrow. Perhaps she _did_ work in the battlefield_. _She just didn't look the part or perhaps it was because he'd never seen her before. She must not be from the main continent. He feels a sudden wave of curiosity wash over him. Something to take his mind of the recent events that had taken place.

"But this would be the last time" She speaks softly.

" Last time? By the way where are you from anyway?" Hashirama blurts out.

The girl blinks and gives him an amused look; Hashirama takes note of the vibrancy in her teal eyes. " Why so many questions?"

Hashirama stammers under her piercing look. " I-err.. well I've never seen you before so I assume you're foreign?"

" You classify anyone you've never seen before as an outsider?" The girl pesters. The woods they were walking in grew darker as the sun set . A warm breeze gushes past them.

" No! That's absolutely not what I meant!" The flustered Senju waves his arms around earning another charmed look from the redhead.

" But you weren't wrong" She states calmly, a warmer glow reaching her eyes.

" I wasn't? " Hashirama places his hands by his sides. " Then why would you- " He stops mid sentence when the girl's expression dared him to say anything more. Handling men on the battlefield seemed much easier than handling the ways a woman's mind worked. However the girl in front of him was not a woman.

"No" The redhead keeps on walking, Hashirama mindlessly stumbles after her.

" Then where are you from?" He asks.

"I'm not telling you, you're a foreigner" The girl teased. The Senju stumps his shoulders down and sighs in aggravation.

" Hey I'm only teasing" she says with uncertainty when she noticed the gloomy atmosphere around the Senju. Hashirama snaps out of his fake depression and beams. " I was only kidding too" The redhead scoffs in annoyance and walks faster but the Senju had no problem in catching up.

" So aren't you going to tell me where you're from?" He found that annoying her was quite entertaining.

" Do I have a choice?" she stops walking. Hashirama smirks at this. He inches closer towards her and whispers " Nope because then I can classify you as a spy and that won't end well for you now would it?" He pulls back and observes her horrified expression. It took everything in him not to lose it right then and there.

" Y-you aren't serious right?" It was her turn to stammer. Hashirama lets a chuckle escape. " Nope I'm only teasing"

He laughs harder when the redhead rolled her eyes before continuing to walk faster.

" However" he starts again more seriously. " Being a good clansman I have to know where you're from"

His tone alone was enough to stop her in her tracks. "Fine" The redhead turns around. " I'm from the land of whirlpool"

Hashirama was just about to call her off on making up such fictional names when his memory resurfaced. He snaps his fingers. " Uzumaki!"

The girl nods. " So you do retain some information inside that hair of yours"

Hashirama tugs embarrassingly at his strands. " It's grown longer ok?"

The girl shakes her head once more as the village square came into their view. "Goof"

* * *

The crowd grew larger by the coming minute as the Uzumaki passed on their supplies to the refugees. Parcels and packages of fish were stocked up a pile enough for a starving family. Had the bakery girl pushed through at least one more hour she could have lived. Mito blocks out the thought. What's done was done.

" Here" she turns around; The Senju boy was offering her bread.

"No thank you" Mito shakes her head. " You take it"

The boy shakes his head back at her . " I've already had two you need it more than I do"

Mito gives him a guilty smile before taking it. " Thank you" If he had known that she was given food that could help a starving population everyday he would not have offered her his bread. She figures it was best that no one knew who she was.

" So how long are you going to be here for?" He asks swinging back on forth with his legs crossed. She takes a bite out the crusty bread she was oh so used to eating everyday.

" We leave in a while actually" she takes another bite, a little surprised at how hungry she was.

" So soon?" she catches the disenchantment in his voice. The Senju boy glances up at the clouds. " But that's understandable.. I guess.. since your village is two days away"

"You've been to my village?" Mito asks.

The Senju shakes his head and smiles. " No but I've heard stories."

"Ah" she wonders what the Senju's perception of her homeland was. She becomes a little apprehensive on how the stronger of the two families might view the whirlpools. _What did they think of us?_

" Did you have any prior knowledge of our clan?" He asks. Mito grimaced inwardly. _Again with the questions._

" Not really" she answers. Before taking a bite she remembers the tales she had heard about a great kunoichi of the Senju. " No wait.. actually I do!"

The Senju raises his eyebrows. " What was it?"

Mito folds the paper the bread came in. "Just tales of a strong kunoichi named Akane Senju"

"Oh"

" Have you heard of her?" she asks.

" W-well not really.. I guess I heard bits" He stutters uneasily, His hands clutching something under his shirt but Mito dismisses it.

" Well I remember listening to stories about her bravery every night before going to sleep when I was five" She smiles at the memory. " I remember wanting to grow up to become a strong kunoichi like her"

" Is there any reason why you can't achieve that dream anymore?" He asks stirring the conversation in a different direction.

Mito sighs somberly. "It's complicated but then again you never know what the future holds"

The Senju boy smiles, Mito notices warmth that wasn't there before in his soft eyes. " I can relate"

She smiles back at his dark orbs reflecting an orange glow from the sunset. A flock of seagulls flew past them, as if they were headed to the same direction she was going to head.

"You never told me your name" she says softly.

" You never asked" He teases with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He laughs as she rolls her eyes.

"Easy now, I was just teasing" He smiles. " My name's-"

" Mito-sama, we are ready to leave now" The Senju boy's answer was cut short by the Uzumaki shinobi's voice. A sea of red was gathered near the exit of the Senju village.

Mito mutters something under her breath. She was just glad that her name wasn't a household name as she stood up. The Senju boy gets up as well." And here I was thinking that I made a new friend" There was visible disappointment in his expression. She worries for him for a split second. Was he good at masking his emotions in battler... another part of her wonders if he was showing his grimace on purpose. _That goof _

The said girl suppresses an amused smile and sighs before catching up with her clan . "Goodbye Senju-san"

" I'll see you around.. eh Mito-san?" He beamed.

**A/N – I really enjoyed writing them as kids. I hope you liked it. If you did.. should I continue this story? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Crossing paths **

**6 months later**

It happened during yet another battle against the Uchiha. The day Senju Hashirama had awoken the mokuton was the day he finally earned the respect from his authoritarian father.

" From this day onwards we will be known as the Senju clan of the forest!" His father had claimed loud and clear lifting his fist up over the many enemy corpses,

The Senju men roared in agreement while the inheritor of this life energy stood in the background heedless as to what to do. The Uchiha ballot that had attacked them simply evacuated while Hashirama desperately looked for his old friend. Despite everything, he was thankful that Madara wasn't apart of that ballot as he wasn't sure whether the young Uchiha could have survived. After that incident, The Senju's had celebrated his gift for a whole week. It was like a festival. For Hashirama, this was a surreal experience especially since it was his father who demanded a celebration. Even Tobirama acted differently around him.

He was seated to his father's right with his brother was seated to his left on top of the pavilion on the last day of that week. Senju Butsuma handed over a bottle of sake to the boy as he raised his own bottle. Hashirama who was only fifteen stared at the bottle. He gave Tobirama an unsure look while his brother returned with a shrug. Butusma noticed this and patted the startled boy on the back.

" Come now son! , If you are old enough to kill you are old enough drink!"

Knowing all too well what his father would do if he didn't comply Hashirama downed the bottle before his father could even propose the toast. It took a second before Butsuma regained his composure. He raised his half drunk bottle and the crowd lifted their own sake cups.

" Here's to the new era of the Senju! "

* * *

" Very good Mito-san ! if you keep this up you'll be a full fledged hime in four years!" exclaimed the hand maiden by the name of Honoka who looked no more than an year older than Mito.

The art of the tea ceremony was just that. A form of art. A form of art that required patience, diligence and intuition. All of these qualities were qualities that were to be mastered by any sealing specialist. The kind of patience needed to add just enough tea leaves, just enough time to boil water and just enough stirring was aggravating.

Mito was just finishing her fourth round of the tea ceremony. She wore an elaborate teal furusode decorated with red toka flower patterns. An attire that was the complete opposite of her usual qipao top and hakama pants but an attire that pleased her father nonetheless. The young Uzumaki poured the steamed tea into the cup in front of her handmaiden.

The handmaiden closed her eyes and took a sip. Mito waited nervously for her input.

" Hmm.. you're getting there"

Mito's shoulders slumped. She couldn't bear to sit still for another two hours. Noticing her discontent the handmaiden gently touched the younger Uzumaki's hand.

" Don't feel bad Mito-sama" She smiled. " Just remember not to add too much sugar"

Mito cocks her head to side. "How will I know how much is too much sugar? "

The older girl chuckled lightly. " Lets see" She placed a finger to her chin. " Perhaps you'll understand it if I explain it in terms of chakra"

Mito couldn't help but smile. Of all the people from her village, Honoka was the one who understood her the most. Honoka was the daughter of her late mother's cousin, So that made her Mito's second cousin. Growing up she was the more poised girl and now it was her job to teach Mito her ways. " Alright explain it to me then oh sensei!" Mito teased.

Honoka rolled her eyes and smiled. " Alright, think of the tea ceremony like storing chakra" Mito raised an eyebrow. "Storing chakra?"

The older girl nodded. " Think of each ingredient as a the channels where you store chakra, if you withdraw too much you'll end up with something foul and if you withdraw too less.. then you won't have that much power right? So if you store just enough you'd get the perfect combination and if you need more you could just add on later!"

Mito blinked. All the while Honoka ambled on, Mito was having an epiphany. Storing chakra? Why hadn't anyone put that into practice before? It was perfect! If she weren't allowed into the battle field anymore what was she suppose to do with her high Uzumaki chakra reservations? If she stored it to use it up one day in the future that would be more ideal!

"Thank you Honoka!" Mito chimed more excited than she should be.

"Uh. You're welcome- hey! Where are you going?" She called after Mito who was now half way out the door.

" Out side! I need to experiment with something, you just gave me an idea!"

Honoka sighed. " You and your experiments"

* * *

" Nine"

" What?" Hashirama looked up from his scroll at his brother.

" There are nine tailed beasts" Tobirama stated as he pointed at the scroll. " You're reading about them aren't you?"

Hashirama glanced back at his scroll. " Well yes, do you know anything about them?"

Tobirama shook his head. " No more than you do" The younger Senju folded his arms over his chest. " I know that they were one entity once long ago and that they were sealed inside the sage's body"

The older Senju raised his eyebrows in wonder. " Wow he must have had strong reservations of chakra in order to do that"

The silver haired boy simply shrugged his shoulders. " They say we have strong chakra reservations but so far no one, no Senju nor Uchiha had successfully sealed a tail beast inside them"

" What happened to them?" asked Hashirama, genuinely intrigued.

" Their bodies rejected the foreign chakra" answered the stoic younger Senju.

Hashirama contemplated for moment before asking again. "What about other clans?"

"Meaning?" Tobirama raised an eyebrow.

" Surely the Uchiha and the Senju aren't the only candidates to have a beast sealed into?" Weren't the Uzumaki's sealing specialists. Surely they would know more about the beasts.

" The Senju" Tobirama hesitated. " and the Uchiha are the only worthy candidates who can handle the beasts- why are you musing about this anyway?"

Hashirama shrugged and glanced at his scroll once more. " For precautions sake , you never know when someone decides to use the beasts against us"

Tobirama smirked slightly. " Dear brother, you are humorous at times" His smile diminished. " There is no one alive that can control the tail beasts, there has been no accounts of it. Ever"

" That's what they said about the mokuton"

* * *

_Release, Withdraw, Store_

_Release, Withdraw, Store._

_Release_

To say that she was exhausted was an understatement to say the least. Ever since her epiphany she'd been gone into the outskirts of the land of the whirlpool to put her theory into practice.

_Withdraw_

She inhaled deeply. With every breath she took she withdrew a small portion of chakra from her chakra storage channels. Mito was sitting cross legged under a large peach tree. The petals from the toka flowers drifted away with the breeze.

_Store_

She decided to store the withdrawn chakra onto the core of the chakra gates. Her forehead. It would take ages before the seal becomes completed because as of now every time she drew a breath only less than an inch of chakra was stored. So far from what's she'd measured she was able to store less than five inches of chakra and she was exhausted from all the concentration. Mito closed her eyes for a minute.

"Oh what's this?"

She immediately opened her eyes the moment she heard the unfamiliar voice and sensed the dark chakra. Hovering above her were three men with dark hair and even darker eyes. Mito looked around frantically for something, anything she could use to defend herself. Her father had taken away all her weaponry, as he couldn't trust that she wouldn't use it. Mito cursed under her breath.

" She's definitely an Uzumaki" Mito's eye widened as the tallest man's own eyes turned red in colour.

" W-what do you want?" She asked. Her eyes frantically searching for an exit. But it was no use, she was cornered.

" Do you think she'll do?" asked the shorthaired man ignoring her question.

" Yeah, Tajima-sama couldn't possibly expect just the three of us to bring back a full grown Uzumaki, they're a rowdy bunch I tell you!"

" You're right, it's better than nothing" agreed the shortest man of three. " You're coming with us girl"

Mito got up and stood firm as if the pressure of the ground would be enough to stick her there. "What if I don't?" she said this more confidently than she was.

The men laughed a crude sneer. " A feisty one aren't you?" The tallest man started to reach for her. Unrenowned to them Mito had started to form a series of hand seals.

_Rat-Snake-Horse-Dog_

Mito took a deep breath and spins while exhaling.

"_Futon:Shinkuha!"_

The released air formed into a solitary blade of wind that covered a substantial area around her. As the men blocked her attack the young Uzumaki attempted to escape from an opening between the two tall men. She ran as fast as her feet could carry her but the chakra storing practices she did a while ago and the wind release technique she'd just released took a toll on her body. It took her a while to realize that she was running opposite to the direction of the village. She mentally yelled at herself. She attempted to turn around but was faced with a dire situation. The men were around her fully encircling her.

" Don't underestimate the Uchiha"

Within seconds into staring into the man's eyes, Mito was unconscious.

* * *

She woke up as someone shook her. Her eyes opened lazily and stared up at the man who had knocked her out in the first place. At that moment she'd desperately wanted to back to her unconscious state. Surely that would be better than whatever they were about to do to her. She had no time to struggle , it was then she noticed that her hands were tied behind her back with ropes.

"Walk" The tallest man ordered.

Mito couldn't see anything, as the sky was completely dark. How long was she out for? She wondered if her clansmen had noticed she was gone. Probably. Probably not. She felt her hands go numb, as the rope around her wrist was a little too tight. She felt dizzy.

"Walk faster!" The short hair guy pushed her and she stumbles forward.

Once they were out of the dense forest they were in view of a large house, and there standing was another man.

"Bring her inside, everything's ready"

Inside the house were five more men sitting in a circle. The tallest man that had taken untied her ropes and placed her in the middle.

"Wha-?" Mito could barely talk. She was standing the middle of power hungry men. This situation was completely different from all her experience in the battle field. She stares down as a younger boy handed her a box. Mito curiously opened the box and looked at the content inside with disgust. It was raw meat.

"That little piece of flesh you have there is an indicator" said the oldest man there. He walked around the circle, his eyes never left her form.

" Indicator for what?" She asked despite being surrounded by men with glowing red eyes.

" If you manage to eat the entire indicator it would mean that you have indeed" strong chakra reservations"

" But why me?" Mito exclaimed.

" You're not a special case. We just brought you in because you're an Uzumaki, and it is known that you Uzumaki from the land of whirlpool hold very high reservations of chakra." The man said slowly.

" But why though?" Mito said.

" Ah that my dear is a secret" He activates his own sharingan and ordered the rest of the ballot to do the same.

"Tajima-sama, the girl's chakra levels resemble a Senju!" Cried one of the men.

" That does not come of as surprise" Tajima scoffs. "These pests are allies of the Senju after all, now girl, eat the flesh"

Mito hesitantly scooped up the raw flesh from the box. She felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she gulped. The gore thirsty Uchiha's bloodied eyes were piercing into her skull, Some anticipating her first bite and others ready to strike if she tried something. The young Uzumaki raised the meat to her lips and before she could take bite there was loud bang and loud yelling.

A ballot of men with red armor charged into the house, the Uchiha's immediately turned their attention away from her and to the invaders.

"Senju" Uchiha Tajima gritted his teeth.

Mito took this as her only opportunity and ran out the front door. She ran as fast as her feet would carry her through the front porch and into the deep dark forest. Once she was sure she was out of site, Mito lets out a long sigh of relief. But this short instance was cut short as she heard rustles in the bushes behind her. She took no time to waste as she summoned just enough chakra to perch on to the trees.

" Hey wait!"

* * *

Hashirama scrambles after the retreating figure. He started following the small figure by jumping through the trees after it. The thick woodland-scape tricky to keep track of his footing as he could barely see where he was going. Even so he could tell the small frame of the shadow jumping further away belonged to a female. But he did know that who ever this was, she was trying to escape from something and according the reports his father had told him that daughter of the Uzumaki clan had gone missing. In other words his father's hidden meaning was that he should by all means accept this mission due to his future circumstances.

" Stop!"

His red armor made it hard to keep up with the girl in front of him. He was embodying the Senju headband over his forehead that kept his bowl hair cut out of his eyes.

" Get away from me!" screeched the girl. Her voice was distantly familiar. For some reason during the seriousness of the chase the colour red came into his mind in a wave of nostalgia. "Mito?" He whispers quietly in confusion.

" Mito-san! wait!" a bold move on his part. He wasn't even sure if this was the right person.

However he was caught by surprise as the visibly stunned girl turned around. Even through the darkness he could see the vibrancy of her teal eyes. In that second while her guard was down, she placed a miss-step on a branch and it was too late for her to latch on to another branch as she went crashing down.

Hashirama cursed under his breath as he summoned just enough chakra to give him a booste to catch her. However she managed to land on her feet though he was sure that it would affect her somehow.

" Mito.." He said soflty as he landed in front of her.

The young Uzumaki had an arm wrapped around her stomach as she stared blankly at the Senju. She took a second glance at him before her memory resurfaced. "Goof" she whispered before her feet gave way and she tumbled forward.

With his quick reflexes Hashirama caught her before she hit the ground. Mito nuzzled against his armor half unconsciously before blearily looking back into Hashirama's dark orbs.

" It's alright, you're safe now" he said softly.

That was the last thing she heard before her mind completely blanked out.

* * *

She woke up with a sharp grown and she felt lean pair of arms around her neck along with loud sobs.

" Mito-san!" sobbed Honoka. "Please don't even wander off like that ever again!"

Mito didn't have the heart to argue back and say that she didn't wander off and in fact she was taken away. Seeing Honoka disheartened she found it best to stay quiet. Until she wondered how she got back home in the first place. Then she remembered the Senju boy.

" Honoka.." She began. " Do you know who brought me back home?"

Honoka loosens her grip around Mito's neck. " No idea, but your father probably knows maybe you should ask him?"

Mito softly shook her head. Facing her father was the last thing she wanted to do right now. She could already hear his ' women should not interfere' speech. " No. that's fine I have more important things to do" Honoka raised an eyebrow at her. Mito simply smiled back.

" After all , how many tea ceremonies am I meant to do before I become a wife in four years?"

**A/N- Phew! That was a long chapter. I would like to thank Tatsumi-Hime and I'm-a-very-shy-person because your comments on the last chapter really motivated me to do this chapter. So thank you so much!. Oh btw Honoka is a real character. She was filler character and it was never stated from which time frame she was from as she was only shown as a ghost. Also it's been heavily hinted that she was an Uzumaki as she had red hair and sealing capabilities. **


End file.
